Queen Melissa ~ Queen Of Kinks, Curls & Coils® (Neno Natural)

5/9/2014

1. What's your name and where are you from?

My name is Melissa and I am from New York City.

2. What is your hair type?

My hair type is definitely a crazy mix of everything but if I had to pick I'd say it is a mix of 3c, 4a, and 4b.

3. When did you go natural and what made you do it?

My last relaxer was in March of 2012 and I transitioned for 11 months before big chopping myself (what a disaster) in February 2013. I decided to go natural because my hair was sick and tired of being fried and dyed. It was literally falling out in clumps and I had severe breakage. I didn't have much of a choice but to actually stop and think about what I was doing to my hair so I decided to lay off the chemicals and never looked back.

4. What was the most challenging thing about going natural?

The most challenging thing about going natural was definitely my friends and family's reaction to the different appearance. They were used to long straight hair and now I was rocking short curly hair so it was a bit of a shocking adjustment for them and a huge blow to the ego for me.

5. What is your weekly regimen?

My weekly regimen consists of one major wash day with all the fixings so to speak including a pre-poo and deep condition. Besides my weekly wash day I try to style no more than 2-3 times a week depending on my schedule, my choice of style, and how the weather is acting up that week. For the most part I moisturize, massage and condition my scalp during my styling opportunities as well.

6. What is your daily morning regimen?

Haha... I'm usually running out of the house early in the morning late for work or a meeting so my morning routine is pretty simple and basic for the sake of my schedule. I just untie my head scarf and use my fingers/pick to fluff out my hair depending on the type of look I'm going for. If I'm in a big rush I stick to the basics of a puff, bun, or a faux hawk as my go to quick easy styles.

7. What is your daily night time regimen?

Night time regimen is pretty simple throw on a silk bonnet or head scarf and thats a wrap. If I'm feeling really fancy I'll throw my hair into a pineapple but thats rare.

8. Do you use heat on your hair at all?

I haven't used heat on my hair since August 2012 for fear of heat damage but I am not opposed to the idea of using it in the future since I know much more about proper hair care and heat protection.

9. Do you braid your hair? If so, how often do you do so in a year?

I did recently box braid my own hair a month ago and it was very, very, very time consuming but I loved the outcome. My first experience with box braids was last spring and since then I have had it done three times once by myself and two other times by the professionals.

10. Wide-tooth comb or Denman brush?

I prefer the wide-tooth comb less opportunity for pulling/damage and breakage.

11. Is your hair normally loose or in a protective-do?

I think 50/50 is safe to say. I try to protective style four times a year for 6-8 weeks with 2 week breaks in between and let me hair out for the rest of the time.

12. Have you ever had a hair tragedy? What was it? How did you recover from it?

My hair tragedy was before going natural and that was due to my poor treatment and lack of knowledge.

I was relaxing and dying my hair frequently while in college and at one point my hair just had enough. It seemed like it was barely growing and the hair that was growing out seemed just as damaged as the older hair which was scary to see. Eventually my hair just started breaking off drastically and there was nothing I could do to stop it except start over from scratch chemical and heat free.

13. What's your biggest tip for maintaining healthy or long hair?

My best tip for maintaining healthy long hair is to listen to the needs of your hair. Yes it's great to go on youtube and blogs to see all the reviews, tips, and tricks it can be helpful and inspiring. But at the end of the day you need to do what's best for your hair in order to maintain and retain length and moisture.

14. Where can we find you online? (blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc).